Cyanophora paradoxa genome elucidates origin of photosynthesis in algae and plants
17.02.2012
Price DC, Chan CX, Yoon HS, Yang EC, Qiu H, Weber AP, Schwacke R, Gross J, Blouin NA, Lane C, Reyes-Prieto A, Durnford DG, Neilson JA, Lang BF, Burger G, Steiner JM, Löffelhardt W, Meuser JE, Posewitz MC, Ball S, Arias MC, Henrissat B, Coutinho PM, Rensing SA, Symeonidi A, Doddapaneni H, Green BR, Rajah VD, Boore J, Bhattacharya D.
Science. 2012;335(6070):843-7
The cells of photosynthetic eukaryotes such as plants and algae contain organelles, called plastids or chloroplasts, responsible for photosynthesis. Plastids contain some DNA, a vestige of their origin from free-living cyanobacteria. Here, we use comparative genomics with the obscure algal protist, Cyanophora paradoxa, to propose a resolution to the question of how plastids have spread through the eukaryotes. By understanding the implications of the results, we may be able to picture the overall characteristics of the very first alga.
